11 month old Ball Python Female Q's...

Hi there! I am new to the forums and new to owning a snake. I got my lovely lady Andromeda when she was 9 months old in March. I was just wondering how large a snake of her age should be (she is 2 feet and 5 inches) and how often I should feed her. Her warm side is 82 degrees F and the cool is 75 with a hide on each side. I feed her 1 large mouse every 6 days because the mouse is about the same size as her fattest part.

I am ashamed to say that I got her from Petsmart, being unaware of the stress and underfeeding that happens there. But I don't regret getting her, as she is a beautiful and wonderful lady who is willing to sit in my lap for hours without moving as I read while I stroke her neck. She even lets me rub her cheeks! Is that normal?

All snakes grow at different rates, do you have a scale to give us a weight on her?
And 82 is cold for a hot side try to give them a 88-94 hot spot. Everything else seems good, I would try to get her on rats, will Be easier to feed in the long run.
Everything seems like your on the right path.

I'm no help but my bp is not head shy at all and I love it, but recently he's been kind of...PMSing...:rofl:

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Originally Posted by lolerlaura

Hi there! I am new to the forums and new to owning a snake. I got my lovely lady Andromeda when she was 9 months old in March. I was just wondering how large a snake of her age should be (she is 2 feet and 5 inches) and how often I should feed her. Her warm side is 82 degrees F and the cool is 75 with a hide on each side. I feed her 1 large mouse every 6 days because the mouse is about the same size as her fattest part.

I am ashamed to say that I got her from Petsmart, being unaware of the stress and underfeeding that happens there. But I don't regret getting her, as she is a beautiful and wonderful lady who is willing to sit in my lap for hours without moving as I read while I stroke her neck. She even lets me rub her cheeks! Is that normal?

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Temps should be about:

78-80 cool end
86-87 warm end and if you have a UTH about 90-92 directly on the hot spot

82 is too cold for the warm end of the enclosure :snake:

Snakes all grow at their own pace, we don't keep track of lengths too much, weight in grams is how we describe the size of a snake.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lolerlaura

Hi there! I am new to the forums and new to owning a snake. I got my lovely lady Andromeda when she was 9 months old in March. I was just wondering how large a snake of her age should be (she is 2 feet and 5 inches) and how often I should feed her. Her warm side is 82 degrees F and the cool is 75 with a hide on each side. I feed her 1 large mouse every 6 days because the mouse is about the same size as her fattest part.

I am ashamed to say that I got her from Petsmart, being unaware of the stress and underfeeding that happens there. But I don't regret getting her, as she is a beautiful and wonderful lady who is willing to sit in my lap for hours without moving as I read while I stroke her neck. She even lets me rub her cheeks! Is that normal?

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My bp Lou is about the same age and yes they all do grow at different rates. My girl is about 3' and wieghs 620 grams. Quick question have you had you bp sexed or are you just assuming shes a she (no disrespect meant i assumed for the longest time until i had a friend prob her, I was to scared to do it myself lol)

Welcome to the forum! :welcome:
Your snake sounds lovely.

I have a 9 month old snake that is 1400 grams. I have an older 9 month old at 500 grams.
All snakes grow at their own pace. There isn't really a set average or pace.

If you don't know the weight, then as long as she has good body condition(full, round, well muscled), I wouldn't worry about her size in regards to her age.

You can feed your snake every 7-10 days.

Personally, I feed my hatchlings every 4. Then bump them to a 7 day schedule once they reach 500 grams. But these are intended/current breeders. Pet adult BPs do well on a 7-10 day schedule.

And I agree with what the others said about your temps being too low.

Thanks for the temp advice everyone, I bumped it up to 86 on the warm side and it still 75 on the cool side.

I sadly do not have a scale yet as I refuse to buy one for 60$ when I know I can find one for 20$.

I got mine from Walmart and it works fine, and welcome aboard

Personally I think it's great that you're handling her a lot, as long as she keeps eating it's probably not stressing her out. My hubby will lay on the couch with Little Dude for hours, and when I first saw him he was being worm as a hair ornament with a little sign that said "looking for a good home." If he were to need medical ateention in the future, he's not going to be a problem. I can move him around, examine him, and check him over with no trouble. However Bubbles, who only handled when necessary by her breeder twitches at every single thing and lunges for cover, I dread ever having to medicate her.

Andromeda is a sweet little lady and I feel honored to have such a nice snake. I wow my boyfriend every time I rub her fat little cheeks because his ball python won't even let you get near her neck. She is very well rounded with no ribs showing and she has plumped out very nicely since I got her.

When the weather is really warm I like to take her for walks with me. If I am wearing my headphones she happily coils around the top so she can get a bird's eye view of the world. She can be seen doing just that in my profile picture :3

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I also check her regularly for any sign of RI since she will yawn from time to time. She doesn't mind me pulling back her lips to check her teeth and she only gets mildly offended when I use a q-tip to get a good look at her throat. After I take away the q-tip she calms right back down.

I had her 'popped' by a friend of mine who goes to the same college as me. She recomended I join the Seattle Herp society with her and she has been a herper for 6 years.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by lolerlaura

Thanks for the temp advice everyone, I bumped it up to 86 on the warm side and it still 75 on the cool side.

I sadly do not have a scale yet as I refuse to buy one for 60$ when I know I can find one for 20$.

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Here is the scale I bought. Has a bowl so your BP won't fall off...also nice if you weight live feeders...makes it tougher for them to crawl out. Goes up to 5,000g so will last a looooong time
FREE SHIPPING YAY!! LOL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...9SIA18R0A61925

Wow thanks for the link! I am definitely gonna make that purchase soon! I will post her weight when the scale ships :)